Wisegate recently surveyed hundreds of senior IT professionals on job satisfaction, career ambitions and the soft skills they need to excel in today’s workplace. A positive effect of the heightened threat environment is that the CISO has gained the respect and ear of the C-suite. Gone are the days of the introverted, disgruntled IT guy – today’s pros are stepping up to the plate and seeking to increase their business savvy, influence and leadership skills. They prioritize learning opportunities over the paycheck and aren’t afraid to go outside their current companies for growth opportunities. In the first of a series of reports on soft skills, Hello, I Must Be Going shares metrics on what matters most to senior IT professionals including the types of soft skills, company culture and job opportunities they seek.

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CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3
Who We Surveyed .................................................................................................................. 4
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: IT Has It......................................................................................................... 5
Yes, Size Matters .................................................................................................................... 5
What Does Your Work Environment Look Like?..................................................................... 6
Moderately Flexible, Moderately Rigid ................................................................................... 7
A (Mostly) Healthy Environment.............................................................................................. 7
Is IT Ready for Business? ..................................................................................................... 10
To Move Forward, You’re Moving Out .................................................................................. 12
The Bottom Line.................................................................................................................... 14
About the Authors ................................................................................................................. 15
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Introduction
Many IT professionals are noticing a profound change in the way they are being regarded
by the businesses at which they work. Instead of being treated as a nuisance or necessary
evil, IT is becoming increasingly integrated into and respected by the business.
The reasons—at least some of them—are plain to see. In many cases, information is the
business. To think of IT as anything but crucial is to have a blind spot the size of the
business itself.
And even if the business isn’t based on the exchange of information, numerous high-profile
events in the recent past underscore the fact that the security of the business’s information
is absolutely critical.
As a result, IT professionals are discovering their place in the business, their ability to affect
the business, and their career options are all changing. This gives rise to questions for both
the business and the IT professional. For example, how are IT professionals’ careers
affected by this evolving set of circumstances? And how can the business help retain their
IT talent?

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Who We Surveyed
In April 2014, Wisegate surveyed hundreds of seasoned IT professionals (90% of whom
have been in IT for more than ten years), asking questions geared toward finding where
practitioners stand on these issues. Figure 1 shows the proportions at which common
industries are represented in this survey.
Figure 1. "Which of the following general categories describes the organization you work
for?"
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
A balanced mix of C-level / VP’s, directors, managers, and individual contributors
participated in this survey, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. "Which of the below most closely matches your current role in IT?"
Source: Wisegate, April 2014

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The results of this survey lead to some valuable insights that can help both IT pros and the
businesses where they work align with each other. This report gives an overview of some of
this survey’s top takeaways.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: IT Has It
If there was once a time when the rest of the business rolled its eyes at the mention of IT,
that time is past, and most senior IT practitioners realize this. In answer to the question,
“How seriously do you feel your IT department is taken by the company where you work?”
72% of survey respondents replied either “very seriously” or “somewhat seriously,” as
shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. "How seriously do you feel your IT department is taken by the company where
you work?"
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
Perhaps even more importantly was the fact that nobody responded “Not at All Seriously” to
this survey question. This makes particular sense considering the shadow recent high-
profile IT security incidents have cast, as well as the growing importance of mobile, apps
and cloud as key business decisions that rely on IT to be successful.
Yes, Size Matters
While it’s gratifying for IT professionals to see the general trend toward taking IT seriously,
it’s interesting to note that the degree to which IT is respected is also affected by company
size. As shown in Figure 4, only two thirds—66%—of IT professionals at companies of fewer
than 500 employees say IT is taken seriously. Meanwhile, a sizeable 23% at smaller
companies say IT is not taken very seriously.

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Figure 4. "How seriously do you feel your IT department is taken by the company where
you work?" as viewed by company size.
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
In larger companies (500+ employees), on the other hand, nearly nobody—a meager 3%—
reports IT is not taken very seriously, with 81% of survey respondents saying IT is taken
“very” or “somewhat” seriously. This is likely due to a few factors. First, larger companies
are more likely to be targeted by attacks, and this sobering thought—and the reality behind
it—gives real-world import to the otherwise-hypothetical seriousness of IT. Next, larger
companies frequently have a more mature IT program than their smaller counterparts. And
finally, larger companies are often more subject to governance and regulations, making IT
not just important, but crucial to the business’ existence.
What Does Your Work Environment Look Like?
Respect by the organization you work for is a critical component of a good work
environment, but it is certainly not the only one. To get a sense of how IT pros feel about
where they work, Wisegate asked about a few key factors that affect IT professionals at
their place of work:
» How rigid or flexible processes are
» How healthy the corporate culture is
» How well they fit in with the company culture

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Moderately Flexible, Moderately Rigid
There is a place and time for pushing limits and exploring boundaries, but there is also a
place and time for having guardrails to keep people from harming themselves and their
place of business. The trick, it seems, is to keep processes and rules from being too loose,
or too rigid. As shown in Figure 5, IT professionals responding to this Wisegate survey
indicate that processes they work with tend toward this middle ground.
Figure 5. "How rigid or flexible are processes at your company?"
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
Note that only small percentages of respondents report that processes at their company
tend to extremes: 6% for “extremely rigid” and 11% for “very flexible.” Meanwhile,
“somewhat flexible” and “somewhat rigid” each claim about a third of companies, with
“neutral” filling in the balance. This avoidance of either extreme suits IT professionals well:
they know that processes they establish and adhere to aren’t treated trivially; neither are
they cast in stone and impossible to change when events warrant.
This landscape is actually ideal for IT professionals as they work to ensure stability and
order at their places of work, even as technologies and new risks require them to frequently
adapt.
A (Mostly) Healthy Environment
More than half—57%—of IT practitioners consider their company culture to be at least
“somewhat healthy” (see Figure 6). This is a moderately good sign, though one could
certainly hope for better, especially when you consider that nearly a quarter of IT
professionals see their company culture as at least “somewhat” sick.

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Figure 6. "How healthy or sick does your company culture feel?"
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
It’s worth noting that seniority and role are correlated to perception of a company’s cultural
health. As Figure 7 shows, those who have been at their current company for less than a
year have a definite “first year halo,” with “extremely healthy” assessments more than
double that of any other group, and an “extremely sick” assessment of 0%.
Figure 7. "How healthy or sick does your company culture feel," broken down by number
of years at the company.
Source: Wisegate, April 2014

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The IT professional’s role is also very likely to affect their perception of company culture, as
shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Wisegate Survey Question: "How healthy or sick does your company culture
feel?” broken down by role.
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
Here, note that C-level employees are tied for the highest number (25%) for perceiving their
company culture as “extremely healthy,” but are also the only role represented in the
“extremely sick” category. Meanwhile, C-level and director-level are the least likely groups
to see their company culture as “neutral.”
This polarization likely stems from the deeper insight the higher-up groups have into the
business. Knowing more about what goes on “behind the scenes,” they are less likely to be
ambivalent about the company culture. They either accept the bad with the good, or are
more deeply concerned about the problems employees further down the ladder are simply
unaware of.

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Is IT Ready for Business?
It’s clearly a good sign that IT is respected by the business and that members of IT have –
more or less – found that the culture of the business is healthy for them. This gives rise to
the question, “If business is ready for IT, is IT ready to be part of the business?”
The results of the Wisegate survey indicate that IT professionals are at least aware of the
importance of integrating with and becoming part of the business, although IT professionals
still have considerable work to do before they achieve this goal.
When asked to “choose the three skills and attributes you think would be most worthwhile to
move your career forward,” the most-often selected choices, as shown in Figure 9, were:
» Being business savvy
» Influencing others
» Building relationships
Figure 9. Wisegate Survey Question: "Choose the three skills and attributes you think
would be most worthwhile for you to focus on to move your career forward."
Source: Wisegate, April 2014

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As the top results in Figure 9 demonstrate, IT professionals know that they need to develop
business-relevant skills in order to understand and communicate with the business. In fact,
when asked, “If you had to choose, which would you say is more important, business
knowledge or technical know-how for you to move forward in your career?” a remarkable
87% of survey respondents chose “business knowledge.”
However, while business skills (sometimes called “soft skills”) are recognized as critical by
IT professionals, it is less clear to many IT practitioners where they can go to acquire these
skills. Figure 10 illustrates this problem.
Figure 10. Wisegate Survey Question: "Who is currently helping you develop your
career?" broken down by how hierarchical the respondent's company is.
Source: Wisegate, April 2014

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Here, note that people in extremely flat companies have to look outside the company
(“mentor,” “executive coach,” and “peer outside the company” are frequently selected,
while “manager” and “peer inside my company” are not selected at all) for help in acquiring
the soft skills needed to move their careers toward being more a part of the business. For
more hierarchical companies, people look to their managers—or, disturbingly, nobody. In
fact, “nobody” is selected with startlingly high frequency across all groups except those in
extremely flat and extremely hierarchical companies.
To Move Forward, You’re Moving Out
IT professionals seem to be restless souls. While 90% of the Wisegate survey respondents
have been in IT for more than ten years, 65% of them have been in their current position for
less than five years.
More to the point, as Figure 11 shows, they expect to be moving on in their career soon: a
third within the year, and two-thirds within two years.
Figure 11. Wisegate Survey Question: "When do you EXPECT to make the next move
in your career (promotion, role change, etc.)?”
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
This isn’t mere anticipation of an event beyond their control. When asked when they want to
move (see Figure 12), survey respondents indicated that an even greater number of them—
46%, nearly half—wanted to move within the year.

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Figure 12. Wisegate Survey Question: “When would you LIKE to make the next move
in your career (promotion, role change, etc.)?”
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
But why the eagerness to move? As it turns out, many IT professionals have the sense that
if they want to move forward in their careers, they have to move to a different company, as
shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13. Wisegate Survey Question: “Which of these most closely represents your
opportunities for career advancement?”
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
It’s not more money that is motivating IT professionals to move. In fact, out of a set of eight
things that might positively affect job and life, respondents to the Wisegate survey ranked
“more money” far down the list: sixth (see Figure 14).

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Figure 14. Wisegate Survey Question: "Rank these items in order of importance they
would have in positively affecting your job and life."
Source: Wisegate, April 2014
The thing that wound up as a top-three choice most often by survey respondents was clear:
more opportunities to learn. Second and third choices were closer, but in the same vein:
“More positive feedback from the business side of the organization” and “More challenging
work opportunities.”
The Bottom Line
When you combine what IT pros want with their stated expectation of leaving their current
company, a clear picture—and the biggest takeaway of this survey—emerges: IT
professionals aren’t getting the business expertise skills they need at their current
companies and positions, and—in order to accrue value to the business—are therefore
looking elsewhere.
This has serious—but also incredibly useful—implications, both for IT professionals and the
companies that hope to retain their experienced IT talent:
1. If you have IT talent you wish to keep, it is no longer enough to nurture their
technical side. IT professionals are increasingly aware of the critical need for them

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to develop the “soft skills” normally associated with other parts of the business.
Your organization will benefit by working to develop these skills in your IT
professionals, and you are more likely to meet their career needs within the
company, rather than forcing them to look elsewhere.
2. If you are in IT and looking to develop your own career, be aware that while
your current company may not have specific opportunities for developing soft skills,
others may not either.
This facet of career development for IT professionals is still very new. That said,
opportunities do exist to develop soft skills, some of which you might find at services like
Wisegate, and some of which you might want to learn elsewhere, such as by engaging an
executive coach or finding someone to act as a mentor.
As IT—both as departments and individual professionals—gains mainstream respect and
credibility across business units, IT professionals are now in the position to gain and exert
influence within their companies. As this survey shows, they have already started down this
path; as their ability to interact grows, this can only be good for the business.
About the Authors
Nikk Gilbert is vice president of Information Technology and CISO for CUNA Mutual
Group. You can reach him at nikk@nikkgilbert.com or @archangelnikk on Twitter.
Paul Harjung is the CISO at W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and can be reached at
pharjung@wlgore.com.
Elden Nelson is Editor-in-Chief of Wisegate, with responsibilities to provide consistent,
high-quality content its Members can use. You can reach Elden at
elden.nelson@wisegate.org.

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